FAQs

The Human Givens Diploma was originally designed for people already working in mental health, education or social services, who would like to develop their skills, knowledge and effectiveness, but because the course deals with fundamental issues that affect all human beings, and the approach provides a highly practical framework for improving emotional health and wellbeing, other professions – such as education, social work, business consultancy, parenting programmes, physical health, chaplains, diplomacy, back-to-work schemes and more – find it hugely beneficial too.

The course is presented in clear jargon-free language, so anyone wishing to embark on a career in counselling or psychotherapy for the first time will also find it easily accessible, as well as beneficial. This, combined with the flexibility of the part-time course structure, enables anyone with the appropriate aptitude to progress through the Diploma at a pace that suits them.

People from a wide range of caring professions have taken the Diploma, including: counsellors, psychiatric nurses, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, speech therapists, psychotherapists, consultant physicians, occupational therapists, childcare managers, teachers, police counsellors, family court welfare officers, drug project managers, nurses, GPs, youth workers, social workers, addiction counsellors, complementary therapists, community development consultants and midwives (you can read some of their comments here).

The appeal of the Human Givens Diploma is reaching far and wide – English speaking professionals have come from all over the world to attend, including: America, Brasil, Canada, France, Italy, Malta, Scandinavia, Ireland and South Africa, as well as from Scotland, Northern Ireland, England and Wales. The United Nations have sent someone on the course and in 2017 the Diploma was taught in America for the first time.

No. Although our courses are primarily for the caring professions, all of our training is presented as clearly as possible without jargon so that anyone who is interested in the subject matter, whether for professional or personal reasons, can benefit from the material covered. 

Human Givens College is dedicated to spreading high quality information about mental health and wellbeing to as many people as possible, worldwide.

Yes. The Human Givens Institute – which holds the register of human givens therapists – was one of the six organisations, along with BACP, UKCP and NCS, involved in developing the SCoPEd framework, which was officially adopted by them all in February 2023.

Work has since been carried out by each separate organisation to identify appropriate pathways for their own members to transition between the SCoPEd framework’s 3 columns, given the appropriate experience and training; these pathways were shared and agreed with their fellow organisations.  (All newly trained therapists and counsellors start at Column A, but will be able to move to the other columns once they have gained sufficient therapeutic practice, experience and ongoing appropriate learning and development.)

The HGI has worked closed with HG College to develop the routes for all Human Givens Diploma graduates to transition between Columns A, B and C should they wish to do so. These will be published as soon as possible.

We’ve designed the Diploma to be as flexibile as possible so you can fit it in around your other commitments and work through it at a pace that suits you.

Students typically take between 1.5—3 years to complete the training and associated therapeutic practice, depending on their previous professional experience, aptitude and individual circumstances. We recommend that you take plenty of time to thoroughly absorb what you are learning and to practice your new skills as often as possible. Some elements of the training are completed online, the rest is taught in person. Students are also expected to carry out home study, including a reading list, and therapeutic practice under close supervision with an HGI-accredited supervisor.

For a comprehensive breakdown of the hours involved, see:  Stages of qualification and registration as a HG Therapist >

Once you’ve successfully passed Part 2, you have two years in which to take and pass Part 3 to become a fully qualified human givens practitioner. If you go over that time, you will need to retake some of the training, please contact the office for details.

You must have completed all of Part 1 before attending the first week of Part 2.

For full details of the fees for all 3 parts of the Diploma course, click here.

Yes. You do not need to pay for everything at once, and can work your way through each stage at a pace that suits you. We also often run special offers, for instance you can save if you buy all the Part 1 online courses at once and if you book multiple workshops at once. And you can choose PayPal’s PayLater option at the checkout to spread the cost over three months if you wish.

The cost of taking the Diploma is the total amount you pay for all 3 stages – plus additional costs such as supervision when undertaking Part 3.

Part 2 and 3

If you would like, we are also happy for you to pay for your Part 2 or Part 3 fees by installments, as long as the total amount is paid before attending. Please contact our office to find out more.

Yes, once you’ve successfully passed your Part 3 assessment, you are eligible to join the Human Givens Institute as a Registered Member and be entered on the HGI’s Professional Register which is independently accredited in the UK by the Professional Standards Authority for Health and Social Care – the same organisation that accredits the registers of BACP, the National Counselling Society, UKCP and others. The PSA is accountable to the UK parliament.

• Find out more

You can start Part 1 whenever you like – there is no application process for this stage of the Diploma, which has been designed to be as flexible as possible so you can fit it in around your other commitments and progress at a pace that suits you. Working like this also helps you to decide whether our training is right for you.

You will need to apply to take Part 2, and it helps to get your application in as early as possible, as places tend to fill up fast.  For full information, see:  How to apply >

Yes. We are very happy to discuss this with you and often help students work out a personalised plan of the best dates to attend the different courses for Part 1, as well as looking at options for Part 2.

Please contact Fiona Heffernan, on +44 (0)1323 811690 or via our enquiry form, she will be happy to help.

The human givens approach is a genuinely holistic joined-up approach, which takes into account the biological, psychological and social factors of a person’s life. It is informed by the very latest research from various disciplines, including neuroscience, which it combines with a powerful ‘tool box’ of the most effective therapeutic skills and psychological interventions to help people move on in their lives as quickly as possible, ancient wisdom and unique insights of its own.

It is a highly respectful, humane and down-to-earth approach, which empowers people by giving them the knowledge and skills to maintain their own mental health and enables therapists to work creatively, tailoring their therapeutic interventions to each individual.

Also see:

• What makes the human givens approach different?
• Research findings
• Benefits of the human givens approach
• Case histories
• Success stories

Many counselling and psychotherapy training courses – even at degree level – fail to give people enough information and skills to be really effective. This lets down the increasing numbers of people seeking help for psychological distress, sometimes harms people (for example, some approaches unintentionally make depression worse) and wastes time and money. This diploma course was created to provide that missing knowledge and to teach the necessary skills so people can be genuinely more effective at helping others.

It is a scientifically sound, skills-based qualification, which enables practitioners to tailor their therapeutic interventions to each individual client, young or old.

Also see:

• How human givens differs from other therapy approaches
• How a human givens therapist can help
• Research into the efficacy of the human givens approach
• Accreditation

No. One of the many myths that grew up in the field is that practitioners need to undergo many hours of psychotherapy or counselling themselves. We are clear about this ‘requirement’. Extensive research shows conclusively that therapists who have personal counselling are not more effective.^1,2 Moreover, the type of counselling that many trainees are required to undergo can actually be harmful to them.^3,4

People only need counselling or therapy when their lives aren’t working. Just as we only need to take medicine when we are ill – and then in the right quantity, and at the right time, from someone who really understands our condition. What you need to become a therapist or counsellor is intelligence, aptitude, spare capacity and life experience.

However, if a student (or their supervisor or tutor) recognises that something has arisen for them during training, perhaps a subject discussed brings to light a previous trauma or they are experiencing problems in their personal lives, then we always recommend, if applicable, that the student receives the appropriate therapy or counselling to help them address the issue, both for their own wellbeing and to ensure that they have enough spare emotional and cognitive capacity to help others effectively (eg. by not being emotionally ‘triggered’ by subjects brought to the therapy room).

The College and HGI also encourage all qualified HG therapists to look after their own wellbeing in this way; we run additional courses to help therapists and caring professionals look after their own wellbeing, such as How to Avoid Burnout and Developing Self-Compassion.

Throughout the various stages of the Diploma, students have plenty of opportunity to experiencing what it is like to ‘be the client’ and to receive therapy and counselling as they practise their therapeutic skills with their colleagues and take part in practical assessments.

1. People do not need counselling before doing counselling: The objective evidence for this view is overwhelming. See Russell, R. (1993), Report on Effective Psychotherapy: Legislative Testimony. Hilgarth Press, which was later endorsed by the American Psychological Association.

2. See also Hogan, D.B. The Regulation of Psychotherapists, 4 vols. Ballinger.

3. Dawe, R. M. (1994). House of Cards: Psychology and psychotherapy built on myth. Simon & Schuster.

4. Dineen, T. (1996). Manufacturing Victims: What the psychology industry is doing to people. Robert Davies.

To be accredited to practice as a human givens practitioner you need to complete the Human Givens Diploma to Practitioner Assessment Level – what we call Part 3. You can read more about this by clicking here.

To become a fully-qualified Human Givens practitioner you need to have successfully completed all 3 parts of the HG Diploma training with Human Givens College and fulfilled the HGI’s criteria for Registered Membership.

However, some people take the Diploma up to Part 2 level to benefit from its unique insights, and the key psychological understandings and effective therapeutic skills it gives them, so that they can incorporate them into their own field of work. Others have taken the Diploma up to Part 2 for their own personal interest and development.

Yes. Every course that makes up Part 1 of the Diploma has a set of accompanying notes, which complement the training.

There is also a Reading List for Part 2 (none of which is overly academic) and you are encouraged to start that as soon as you like, ideally while you are working your way through Part 1. The list also includes guidance on reading the suggested texts critically, to help develop your understanding and deepen your learning.

When you are on Part 2 you will also receive a comprehensive course manual to read all the way through before the attending the first week.

8 of the Part 1 diploma-linked courses are available online – these give you the opportunity to learn from the co-founders of the human givens approach, Joe Griffin and Ivan Tyrrell, and to complete some of the required elements remotely.

The remaining elements of the HG Diploma are carried out in person. This is because effective psychotherapy and counselling involves a wide range of subtle and often powerful therapeutic techniques (such as rewind) which need to be demonstrated and practised in person, under the careful guidance of a highly experienced tutor, with plenty of opportunity for asking questions and recapping on elements students might find more difficult. Practical assessments of therapy also need to be carried out in person, so that students can be assessed fairly and effectively.

There is increasing international interest in the human givens approach and 8 of the Part 1 courses, as well as several others, are available online to help more people access the beneficial information and techniques we teach.

Some students travel to the UK to complete the remaining in-person elements of the Diploma (we have created two ‘fast track’ weeks of Part 1 courses to help people complete lots of courses at once), but we appreciate that this isn’t possible for everyone.

We have taken our training to the USA, and also run a bespoke Part 1 and Part 2 course in the UK for a group of students who flew in together from South America. We try to be as accommodating and flexible as possible and are always open to suggestions from groups who would like to do this type of training, whether in the UK or abroad – please contact us if you would like to discuss your training requirements.

In order for students to proceed to the final Part 3 assessment, their supervisor-tutor must be satisfied that they have been able to work safely, effectively and ethically with a minimum of 10 different clients. As well as helping you to further develop your clinical skills, your supervisor-tutor will guide you as to the types of cases you can usefully and safely work with at this stage; will encourage you to use outcome measures; and give you guidance with regard to safeguarding and working ethically. They will also advise you on how to find suitable clients.

Most trainees will need to work with significantly more clients to reach the required standard, it totally depends on how much previous therapeutic experience a student has. It is important to note, that progression onto Part 3 is determined by your readiness and not by the number of clients seen.

For more information on working towards Part 3, click here >

To ensure you get the most out of our training, we recommend, wherever possible, that you take the Part 1 courses in the order shown here.

It is particularly important that you attend the Guided Imagery workshop before attending the The Rewind Technique 2-day workshop.

No, we do not recommend this for Part 2 and 3. Your learning overall will be improved by taking the Part 2 course separately and each having your own space to process your learning. With your partner there, inevitably some of your attention will be drawn to them, leaving you less mental space to learn.

We are also aware from experience that having a couple in the room can affect the dynamics of the student group as a whole, which can impact on everyone’s learning experience. During therapeutic practice work, students sometimes work with issues, share information or come to realisations about themselves and/or their lives, which might put themselves, their fellow students or their partner in an awkward or conflicting position. To avoid these ethical conflicts and to ensure everyone can learn to their potential we strongly recommend students do not undertake Part 2 or Part 3 with their partners.

Even if you have previously taken other psychotherapy or counselling courses, or taken a psychology degree, we still require you to attend all parts of the Human Givens Diploma course. This is because, not having assessed other training, we cannot vouch for the quality of what you have been taught.

The psychological skills and information we teach are incredibly effective, but also very powerful and must be used with care, it is therefore essential that you complete and practise all elements of the Diploma course.

Work-based placements are not currently a mandatory aspect of the course, but we actively encourage our students to get as much practical experience as possible and to continually practise their new skills, either in their own current place of work, or through voluntary positions.

The opportunity for these sometimes come up in practices where human givens therapists are already working, and the HGI has a nationwide network of HG therapist peer-groups who can help students with advice on finding suitable practical experience if needs be.

We’re sorry but as we’re not a funded educational establishment we are unable to offer bursaries.

You need to know how to quickly set about treating depression, anger and anxiety disorders, addiction, compulsions, trauma, sexual and relationship problems. The effective counselling checklist produced by the HGI outlines what a member of the public seeking help should expect from any form of counselling or psychotherapeutic intervention.

It can also help counsellors and other health professionals assess whether they need more training to deal with serious emotional distress (by simply asking themselves how confident they feel about doing everything on the list).